Helper's Hat
"Helper's Hat" was a sidequest that players took part in during the YSHDT Arc. The main goal of this quest was to retrieve Helper's magical hat from the enigmatic Gray Man, restoring Helper's former abilities. This sidequest was never completed, though Helper eventually retrieved his hat himself in later arcs. History The sidequest begins when Helper first loses his hat during the YSHDT Arc. This happened after players asked him to help rescue Doug from the fishery. Helper agreed to do so and began running towards the fishery. Mason was also sneaking around the perimeter of the fishery at the time. He, too, was attempting to find Doug, though he had to stay out of sight of the Lunar Children patrolling the grounds. In an attempt to distract them, he tossed a large rock. Unfortunately, this rock just so happened to hit Helper in the head, killing him. In his shock, Mason picked up Helper's hat and was promptly chased away from the fishery by the cult. What exactly happens to Helper's body during this period is unknown. Helper, despite being dead, is able to contact players over Skype and speak with them. This is most likely due to his supernatural status as an Absque Facie. Helper, now without a body and his hat, asks players for help. He claims that without his hat he is no longer the 'Messenger', meaning he no longer possesses his supernatural delivering abilities. He has also lost access to the Helper account on Within Hubris, so he cannot communicate with players there. Helper eventually managed to find his body. However, before he was free to search for his hat he had to carry out tasks for the one who 'claimed' his body before him. Helper explains that he's tasked with delivering drugs and Nazi gold for the cartel. How this exactly came to be is unclear, though it's possible that the Lunar Children at the fishery discarded Helper's body which was then found by someone in the cartel. During this time, strange videos began uploading to a YouTube channel named M. M most likely stands for 'Messenger', though it's also possible that it stands for 'Mason'. It's widely believed that these videos were unknowingly created by Mason, showing his point of view as he runs away from the Fishery. Meanwhile, players began asking Mason if he had Helper's hat. Mason responded, saying that someone who claimed to be from the future appeared before him and traded him a playing card for the hat. This mysterious person from the future was said to have been dressed in all gray, causing players to dub him The Gray Man. The Gray Man, now in possession of Helper's hat, had access to Helper's account on Within Hubris. He began posting using this account, causing some players to call him 'Helper 2', as he was using the same name. Most of The Gray Man's posts on Within Hubris were very judgmental of the players, often scolding them for not working together as a team. The players at this time were very fractured and partook in a lot of infighting, hampering their progress through the ARG. The Gray Man sought to fix this through tough love. The Gray Man even submitted several songs himself which seemed to negatively affect Mason, further stressing players to try and retrieve the hat from him. Players attempted to discover The Gray Man's identity several times, such as using the Mask of Scents to get a lead. None of these attempts worked, unfortunately. Helper wouldn't retrieve his hat until after the sidequest was long over, eventually coming across it himself. At the end of the YSHDT Arc, The Man revealed his identity to the players. During this time, The Gray Man also revealed himself to be a fellow player named Circlehunter. It was stated that if players had simply confronted Circlehunter and accused him of being The Gray Man, he would've given Helper's hat back. As it stands, this sidequest remained one of the more humorous and confusing side stories within Johnisdead.